RHS senior well-versed in poetry recitation

Daphnee McMaster, a senior at Reading High School, won the state finals of the 2012 Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest, hosted by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts at Gov. Tom Corbett's residence in Harrisburg. As state champion, she received $200 from The Poetry Foundation and an expense-paid trip to compete in the national championship in Washington, where a $20,000 college scholarship will go to the winner.

When Daphnee McMaster was a child, her mother would read Shel Silverstein poems to her and her older brother, Ronald, every night before bed.

As the two got older, her mother, Depetra McMaster, shared reading duties with them. Depetra would read one paragraph, then Ronald, then Daphnee.

It was Daphnee's introduction to reading and to poetry, which grew into something new when she reached high school and started participating in Poetry Out Loud.

Daphnee, an 18-year-old senior at Reading High School, recently won first place in the state finals of the 2012 Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest.

She'll represent Pennsylvania in the national competition in Washington, D.C., in May.

The contest encourages high school students to learn about poetry through memorization, performance and competition.

For Daphnee, competing did just that.

"I've learned to respect it on a whole new level: the expressions used in poetry and deciphering different meanings," Daphnee said.

Daphnee competed against other students Monday at Gov. Tom Corbett's residence in Harrisburg. The event was hosted by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

As a finalist, Daphnee will receive $200 from the Poetry Foundation and an expense-paid trip to the national competition, where she could win up to $20,000.

The contest is in its seventh year, and Daphnee is the second Reading High School student to represent the state. The first, DeVonna Smith, who graduated last year, won the state finals last year and placed third in the national competition, earning a $5,000 award.

DeVonna, who is one of Daphnee's friends, watched Daphnee compete Monday.

"She was giving me advice," Daphnee said. "She always does."

Daphnee recited three poems for the competition. Her favorite was "Spring," by Gerard Manley Hopkins, because it required a little more acting than straight recitation.

She said she isn't nervous about the finals in May and plans to go there with an open mind.

"I think more students should be involved in it," she said of Poetry Out Loud. "It's a very fun, exhilarating experience. You learn a lot about poetry and get a strong respect for it."